In manufacturing operations, electronic apparatus may be constructed of circuit structures, such as circuit boards, which are individually assembled and then interconnected to fabricate the electronic apparatus. Such circuit structures usually consist of components mounted on conductor pads formed on a circuit board and which are interconnected by electrical conducting paths to control operation of the components to perform functions for which the circuit structures were designed. Circuit structures used in electronic apparatus, such as computers, are assembled with components mounted on circuit boards. Typical components, among others, include logic gate and element arrays, microprocessor and memory devices.
Each one of the logic gate and element arrays, microprocessors and memory devices must be uniquely configured for each circuit board application in order that the circuit board may perform the intended operational functions of the circuit structure. For example, a logic gate array may have a larger number of NOR and AND digital gates connected to terminals of the array thereby enabling the gate array to be used in a wide number of circuit structure applications. However, the gate array may be required to be configured for a specific circuit structure application where only certain NOR and AND digital gates will be required. Remaining ones of the NOR and AND digital gates must be disconnected from the array terminals or rendered inoperative in order that the gate array may be used in the specific circuit structure application. An element array may have a large number of series or parallel resistor or capacitor elements which must be configured by disconnecting ones of the resistors or capacitors from the array terminals in order that the element array may be used in a specific circuit structure application. Memory devices are required to be configured in size to meet certain circuit structure applications and both microprocessor and memory devices may be required to be configured by programming the devices with firmware program instructions that control operation of the circuit structure.
Presently, components are configured for a specific circuit structure at a time prior to assembly of the circuit structure and placed in reels or storage devices which are subsequently located at an assembly line in order that the components may be removed from the reels and storage devices and mounted on a circuit board. In the assembly of circuit structures, it is desirable that a number of different types of circuit structures be assembled on a single assembly line in a continuous operation and that the configuration of components be coordinated with the assembly process so that each component is uniquely configured and programmed for each type of circuit structure at the time the circuit structure is being assembled. A problem arises in that components are configured and programmed for a specific circuit structure prior to the time that the circuit structure is assembled. Another problem arises in that a circuit structure assembly line must be changed to add and delete component reels and storage devices when one type of circuit structure is replaced by another type of circuit structure. Yet still another problem arises in that it is necessary to stop the circuit structure assembly line and replace ones of the microprocessor, memory reels and storage devices when it becomes necessary to replace firmware program instructions stored in a microprocessor or a memory component with a later version of the component programmed with new firmware instructions.